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Koubek out to avenge Lopez defeat

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Perfecseun previews one of the less glamorous ties of today's Madrid Mastes Series

S. Koubek (Austria) vs F. Lopez (Spain)

A second meeting in a space of two weeks and Koubek is out for revenge big time. Stefan Koubek lost in three sets to Lopez on home soil in Vienna. The Austrian did play pretty well but just could not break the fine serve of the Spaniard when it came down to it. After defeating Ljubicic in three sets yesterday, Koubek will hope his good form continues, so he can close the gap in this head to head which currently stands at 4-2.

Recent meetings between the pair have suggested that one should expect a three- set match. Koubek seems to have found something he likes on hard court these days but so has Lopez, who brought down the Spanish player of the moment, David Ferrer, to advance to the third round of this Masters event.

Lopez definitely has the edge going into this event but three of his wins over Koubek have been in Austria. Perhaps not playing in front of the home crowd will help Koubek as he has won 2 of the 3 matches they have played outside Austria. This might seem a feeble reason but Koubek also won the tougher of the second round matches out of the two and he can dig deep to find that little bit extra he needs tonight.

Suggested Bet: Lay F. Lopez to win 2-0 sets @ 2.66 and small stakes, back Koubek to win @ 2.64